Kukla's Korner Hockey

Entries with the tag: Pavel Kubina

The Lightning should have a healthy Steven Stamkos and goaltender Ben Bishop, something that was not the case in the 2013-14 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Add some splashy offseason acquisitions -- defensemen Anton Stralman and Jason Garrison, and forward Brian Boyle -- and highly touted prospect Jonathan Drouin, and this could be the sleeper team of the NHL.

Former Lightning defenseman and Stanley Cup champion Pavel Kubina is hoping to see his old team emerge as one of top dogs in the East.

“I think it’s a great mix,” Kubina told ESPN.com in a recent telephone conversation. “[Jeff] Vinik really got behind them -- he’s one of the best owners I’ve ever played for -- and the team has a great future. They’ll definitely make the playoffs.”

TORONTO (December 20, 2013) – Pavel Kubina, a Stanley Cup champion, All-Star, and three-time Olympian announced his retirement today from the National Hockey League (NHL) after 13 seasons.

“Making my way to the NHL and playing in the best league in the world for 13 seasons has been a dream come true. I will be forever grateful for the experiences and friendships that I have gained over the course of my career, including capturing the Stanley Cup in Tampa in 2004,” said Kubina. “Thank you to Phil Esposito for drafting me and giving me a chance to play for the Lightning. I also would like to thank my family and friends for their support throughout my hockey journey.”

Confirmed. #SNTrade Kubina to #Flyers for a 2nd and 5th round pick. Done.

added 10:37pm, via the Flyers PR department…

The Philadelphia Flyers announced today that they have acquired 6-4, 258-lb defenseman Pavel Kubina from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for LW Jon Kalinski, a conditional second-round pick previously acquired from the Florida Panthers and a fourth-round pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, according to general manager Paul Holmgren.

Lightning D Kubina has been asked to provide a list of teams to whom he would accept trade.

added 12:16pm, from the Tampa Bay Lightning,

Kubina was not on the ice for the team’s skate in preparation for Thursday night’s matchup with the San Jose Sharks in order to “protect the team’s interests,” according to Yzerman.

Yzerman also said that Kubina, who has a limited trade clause in his contract, was asked to submit a list of teams he would be interested in moving to, although Yzerman reaffirmed that a deal was not imminent at this point.

“We’re making our decisions on a player-by-player basis,” Yzerman said. “We see a potential opportunity to improve our club. In regards to Pavel, and as far as any other players or any other opportunity, there’s the broader strategy of wanting to be a better team in the future, so we’ll look at any opportunity to become that.”

Early word on Kubina is a three-game suspension for elbow to Dave Bolland last night, will try for exact confirmation!

added 2:24pm,

TORONTO (March 10, 2011) – Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Pavel Kubina has been suspended for three games and will forfeit $60,096.76 for delivering an elbow to the head of Chicago Blackhawks forward Dave Bolland in NHL game #1005, the National Hockey League announced today.

The incident occurred at 2:09 of the first period. No penalty was assessed on the play.

His fine is based on his average annual salary and is calculated under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

Kubina received a two-minute penalty with 7:06 left in the third period for the knee-to-knee hit, and then had to fight Coyotes captain Shane Doan, who retaliated. After the game, Yandle told reporters he had no doubt in his mind Kubina stuck his knee out to initiate the hit.

“It was such a dirty hit,” Yandle said. “He sticks his knee out deliberately. I had him wide and he stuck his knee out deliberately. There’s no room in the game for that.”

But Kubina, who said he had not yet watched a replay of the hit, said there was no intent.

“No, not at all,” he said. “I didn’t try to knee the guy. I was going to back up first and then I tried to hit him and he skated right into me. That’s all I can say.”

read on and watch a video of the hit and fight below or scroll to near the end of the video for a replay of the hit…

In the latest episode of The Bolts Beat, the boys discuss the Tampa Bay Lightning’s first road swing of the season and preview the week ahead for the Bolts, Jon’s “What the Hell Was That?” segment brings up an interesting debate on replay, major penalties and the like, Mike defends referees (a sure sign of the apocalypse) and much more.

Today’s three cheers, bestowed upon those who excelled for their clubs in action yesterday:

***Cheers to Nashville’s Steve Sullivan, who had a pair of the three first period goals for his club, en route to a 4-3 Predators win. Sullivan had a chance to complete the rare single stanza hat trick in the waning seconds of the first but was denied on a breakaway by Jaroslav Halak in the St. Louis net.

Before a single tweak to the roster, the Tampa Bay Lightning were already poised for improvement in 2010-11. With the tumultuous era of previous ownership already behind them when the sale of the team to Jeff Vinik was completed late last season, gone in an instant were any and all off-ice concerns and the circus went back to being an annual visitor to the St. Pete Times Forum rather than a permanent resident. With the appointment of Steve Yzerman as general manager, credibility returned to the franchise and new head coach Guy Boucher was widely regarded as the hottest commodity on the off-season coaching market.

Without a solitary player move, hockey life in Tampa was good again.

But far be it from Yzerman to rest on the comfort that fans surely feel by him simply not being one of those other guys. The addition of former Flyers forward Simon Gagne headlines a list of shrewd off-season maneuvers for the rookie GM and the revamped roster could very well translate to the sort of on-ice success that will make Lightning followers quickly forgot about three non-playoff seasons gone by.

For the Atlanta Thrashers, a team with just one playoff appearance in ten National Hockey League seasons (and not a single post-season victory to their credit), the time for a fresh start was clearly at hand.

By first turning a negative into a positive in moving on from superstar sniper Ilya Kovalchuk late last season and then raiding the cabinet of the cap-crunched Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks, Atlanta begins their new era, under both a new general manager and head coach in Rick Dudley and Craig Ramsay, with a wealth of promising youth and several veterans with recent championship experience.

They may no longer boast an individual showstopper but that formula wasn’t producing a consistent winner in Blueland anyway (and that alone rarely does as much anywhere). The post-Kovalchuk Thrashers appear to be headed for greener pastures, though there will be that little issue of replacing his 45+ goals, of course.

In the latest episode of The Bolts Beat, JJ and co-host Mike Corcoran discuss Dan Ellis’ recent Twitter troubles and the many (over?)reactions thereof, look ahead to training camp opening this weekend, Tampabaylightning.com contributor, Mark Pukalo, stops by again to discuss some intriguing position battles ahead for the Lightning and the boys have a little extra time to discuss the NFL’s opening weekend.

In these early days of the Steve Yzerman era here in Tampa, the consensus opinion on his re-molding of the Lightning roster has been overwhelmingly positive.

He promised a methodical approach and got to work in just that fashion almost immediately, adding here, subtracting there and strengthening the overall product all the while.

Few onlookers, if any, have been unimpressed.

But what has been done under Yzerman to this point, until on-ice results can be considered, that is, has to be labeled with the age-old, “on paper” caveat.

Essentially, Yzerman has shed some dead wood, plugged a few holes, added much-needed depth in key areas and maybe, just maybe, found the spark to reignite his club’s captain’s once-dynamic career. And before we forget, he’s given the hottest young coaching commodity in the hockey world the task of leading these fortified troops to success.

In my second statistical peek at the Southeast Division, I’ve grouped defensemen with their new clubs and will focus, this time, on offensive production from the blueline.

(Next up, we’ll re-visit the d-men from a different angle, including blocked shots, TOI and other specifics with less of an offensive emphasis.)

Remember, just as I did with the forwards, this is simply a look back at last year’s individual player statistics, updated to reflect this summer’s off-season transactions. And, as I said in that first piece, a look to the recent past can often be a good indicator of what’s to come… But not always!!!

It should also be noted, especially since I didn’t mention it with the forwards package, that rookies and European transfers (many of whom could certainly make a major impact, theoretically) are not part of this forecast.

Recall as well that for this analysis, currently unsigned, unrestricted free agents are not included, while those still unsigned but restricted are (save for Tampa’s Paul Ranger, an RFA that I have excluded intentionally, as I have little reason to believe he will return).

Not only is Pavel Kubina unlikely to be traded, but Cliff Fletcher is talking him up as a possible captain if Mats Sundin departs.

With an Aug. 15 window to shop Kubina rapidly closing, the Maple Leafs’ general manager yesterday listed the chance of dealing the $5-million US defenceman as “less than 50%.”

“Any trade involving Pavel would have to be very advantageous for the Leafs,” Fletcher said. “I thought he played well last season (after an awful start to Kubina’s four-year $20-million deal) and I know (new coach) Ron Wilson liked him a lot. Plus, it’s very quiet right now for trades.”